Stocks torn between Fed rate warning, AI optimism / Photo: Jim WATSON - AFP/File
-
Kenya halts US Ebola facility: health minister tells court
-
Why the heat is wreaking havoc on Europe's trains
-
Zelensky to skip key Ukraine conference in Poland over WWII row
-
Seoul leads rout for tech shares as oil prices dip
-
Europe heatwave closes schools, threatens health
-
India monsoon sweeps north but brings less rain than usual
-
Germany eyes longer working lives in pension reform plan
-
UK and markets await Burnham's economic plans
-
Iran says won't allow UN inspectors at bombed nuclear sites
-
Heineken names new CEO after predecessor's shock departure
-
Banned Vondrousova insists she has 'never doped'
-
Schools plan to close as UK braces for record-breaking heatwave
-
UN chief urges AI firms to 'come clean' over environmental footprint
-
India startup head Kunal Shah appointed as new WhatsApp boss
-
More records set to fall as deadly Europe heatwave drags on
-
Israel's 'deliberate targeting' of children part of ongoing Gaza 'genocide': UN probe
-
England, Ghana eye last 32 as Portugal look for lift-off
-
Seoul's Kospi stock index tanks 10% to lead tech-fuelled Asia rout
-
Sri Lanka troops to battle deadly dengue mosquitoes as cases rise
-
Iran says to oversee Hormuz as Swiss talks conclude
-
Diaspora World Cup champions diversity over division
-
Guns, drones and doves: War reshapes Ukrainian jewellery scene
-
Australia withholds Pacific climate fund reports over risk of diplomatic 'damage'
-
Kenya police violence victims say compensation promise a 'smokescreen'
-
Indian startup head appointed as new WhatsApp boss
-
EU bets on digital euro to cut US tech addiction
-
Antetokounmpo joining Miami Heat in blockbuster: reports
-
Fineanganofo rethinks Newcastle move after All Blacks call-up
-
'Let's be realistic': Haaland cools Norway's World Cup expectations
-
Stocks fluctuate after Wall St sell-off, crude holds losses on peace talks
-
Lightning, downpour, a two-hour delay: bad weather hits the World Cup
-
Ultra-reclusive Turkmenistan slowly opens up to tourists
-
Two-goal Haaland fires Norway into World Cup last 32
-
Marc Bloch, historian and Resistance hero, joins France's Pantheon greats
-
Last one the best one? How Messi keeps doing it at World Cup
-
Ronaldo 'a role model' says Portugal coach after slow World Cup start
-
Savea 'embraces challenge' of leading All Blacks towards World Cup
-
North Korea's Kim vows to accelerate military buildup
-
Savea 'embraces challlenge' of leading All Blacks towards World Cup
-
Latin America's resurgent right notches another win in Colombia
-
Mbappe scores twice as France beat Iraq at World Cup after two-hour storm delay
-
Trump threatens prison for damage to Washington Reflecting Pool
-
France-Iraq World Cup game restarts after two-hour storm delay
-
Shortages ease in Bolivia as protest roadblocks dismantled
-
World Cup exploits of Maradona and Messi have Argentina fans in raptures
-
Kaas Wilson Architects Expands its Arizona Presence with Larger Phoenix Office
-
Builder Prime Launches Bolt Insights, AI-Powered Business Intelligence Built for Home Improvement Contractors
-
Gold Terra Announces 5.88 g/t Gold over 19.00 Metres Including 18.50 g/t Gold over 4.0 Metres in the Yellorex Area, Con Mine Option Property, Yellowknife, NWT
-
RMTG Launches ISSCA AI(TM) Clinical Intelligence Platform, Extending Its Global Regenerative Medicine Network Into AI-Driven Clinical Infrastructure
-
Quartz Adopts Semi-Annual Financial Reporting
Stocks torn between Fed rate warning, AI optimism
Europe's main stock markets retreated Wednesday following gains in Asia and Wall Street losses, with focus on shares in technology giants and a warning from US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell on interest rates.
Chinese tech firms stood out, with Alibaba shares rocketing after its chief executive said the e-commerce giant planned to ramp up spending on artificial intelligence.
Investors have enjoyed a months-long rally for equities that has pushed some markets to record highs, but the run-up took a pause Tuesday amid talk that the gains may have gone too far.
Another key driver has been expectations that the Fed will continue to cut US interest rates before the end of the year.
However, Powell cooled expectations with a warning Tuesday that cutting rates too aggressively risked stoking inflation.
Powell's comments lent support to the dollar, which had come under pressure from rate-cut expectations.
Investors are awaiting the release on Friday of the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, the Fed's favoured gauge of US inflation, and key American jobs figures next week.
On Wednesday, the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets rallied thanks to a surge of more than nine percent in Alibaba -- which runs some of China's biggest online shopping platforms -- after CEO Eddie Wu unveiled plans to ramp up AI spending by about $53 billion.
"The industry's development speed far exceeded what we expected, and the industry's demand for AI infrastructure also far exceeded our anticipation," Wu told an audience at the firm's annual developer conference in Hangzhou, China.
Crude prices firmed Wednesday "after (US President) Donald Trump ramped up further pressure on sanctions on Russian oil", noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,217.49 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,847.15
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,603.69
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 45,630.31 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 26,518.65 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,853.64 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 46,292.78 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1752 from $1.1816 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3471 from $1.3524
Dollar/yen: UP at 148.08 yen from 147.66 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.27 pence from 87.37 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $67.52 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $64.06 per barrel
N.Walker--AT